NBA legend Michael Jordan infamously once said, "The ceiling is the roof!" And while he almost certainly mixed his metaphors up -- likely meaning something closer to "the sky is the limit" -- it might actually be the perfect way to describe the terrifying, unfinished lab experiment that is Arvell Reese.
Expectations are sky-high for the New York Giants' rookie linebacker, and rightfully so. While many viewed the 6-foot-4, 243-pound defensive demon strictly as a boundary pass-rusher coming out of Ohio State, he was actually just as destructive as an off-ball linebacker... maybe even better.
It’s the reason Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox sees the prodigy as an instant, Day 1 fixture in head coach John Harbaugh’s defense, noting that "Reese will be in the starting lineup when the Giants face the Cowboys to open the season."
It won't shock anyone that a fifth-overall pick is starting right away. Teams don't use premium draft capital on an off-ball linebacker -- of all positions -- just to have him come off the bench.
But the fact that he turns 21 in late August -- meaning he’ll just be legally allowed to buy a celebratory post-game drink right after beating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 -- is a reminder of how early we are in his development.
The Giants haven’t even scratched the surface of Arvell Reese's ceiling
Despite still being basically a kid, he’s already got the frame and the functional strength to anchor the middle of what's expected to be a terrifying Big Blue defense.
To understand how high Reese’s ceiling actually is, you have to look at how much room he still has to grow. Draft analysts labeled him a pure pass-rusher because Ohio State used his 4.46 speed to hunt quarterbacks from the outside.
But the G-Men see a defensive weapon whose size and violent playing style are tailor-made for the inside. Playing him off-ball while learning from veteran Tremaine Edmunds lets him lock down the middle of the field in run and pass coverage, while still giving him the green light to wreck plays on delayed blitzes and up the middle.
We've seen a version of this scenario work pretty well before.
It wasn't all that long ago that pass-rushing superstar Micah Parsons started out playing a hybrid role with the Dallas Cowboys, being routinely featured inside before they eventually turned him loose as a full-time quarterback hunter. That could absolutely be the long-term play for Reese.
Or... there’s also a potentially more interesting alternative: the rookie might do such a good job at middle linebacker that he stays there forever. If he can put it all together, he has the upside to become Harbaugh's next great, generational man in the middle -- the brain and the brawn anchoring the entire defense for the next decade-plus.
As it turns out, MJ might've been right all along. For Reese and the Giants' defense, the ceiling could just be the roof.
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